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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

These are the two first Months of the Year that afford Matter for new Comfits, that is say, Violets, which are the first Flowers of a fragrant smell that the Earth brings forth, after it has been deliver'd from the Tyranny of the sharp Winter.

With these Flowers, Conserves and Pastes are made, as also Syrup of Violets, the gross Substance of which may be kept in Marmelade, to make dry Pastes, at other times: For want of these, when it is requisite to prepare any Thing, that has the taste and smell of a Violet, Indigo and Powder of Orrice are generally us'd, particularly for Pastils and Mosses, which are Sugar-works that may be made in any Season.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 11.

Explore with me 18thC French cuisine as a habitante in Nouvelle France may have cooked. After the F&I War, and again after the Revolutionary War, habitantes were surrounded and overrun by Anglo and other American influences. By the end of the 18thC, new foods and new methods of cooking would change her culture forever.